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Women’s Interhall: Games to decide Stadium berth

Kyle Smith, Chris Michalski | Friday, November 14, 2008

After making the semifinals the past two years, only to come up short in its run for the stadium, No. 3 seed Farley is determined not to falter again when it meets No. 2 seed McGlinn Sunday at 2 p.m. at LaBar fields.

The Finest eked out 13-7 win over Walsh last weekend, and they know they will need to improve their performance against McGlinn to pull off the upset.

“We need to work on capitalizing on all of our chances offensively,” Farley captain Jenny Rolfs said in an e-mail.

If they can execute on offense, they know they can count on their defense to keep the game out of reach, she said.

“Our defense is our strongest point and they do their job every game to stop the other team’s offensive drives,” Rolfs said.

After experiencing such disappointment the past two years, Rolfs said it would mean a lot for her team to finally get over the hump and reach the championship.

“It has been a goal of ours and would mean a lot to the seniors on the team to make it to the Stadium this year,” she said. “We have waited a long time and we are ready.”

But they will have to first get through McGlinn, who defeated Pangborn 18-14 in the quarterfinals.

The Shamrocks know Farley will be a tough challenge, but believe they can pull off a win.

“We are confident that we can match up with any team as long as we continue to play the way we have been,” McGlinn captain Sarah deGroot said in an e-mail.

With the playoffs come postseason pressure, and deGroot said the contributions of the seniors will be crucial to her team’s performance on Sunday.

“We’re really looking to the seniors to lead the team on Sunday,” she said. “They are the most experienced players on the field and have additional motivation since this is their last season.”

McGlinn has never reached the championship game, but the Shamrocks have a feeling that this may be their year.

“It would be really exciting to be the first McGlinn [team] to ever play in the Stadium,” she said. “This is one of the most talented teams we’ve had in a long time and we’d love to make [rector] Sr. Mary [Lynch] proud by making it to the Stadium.”

Welsh Family vs. Pasquerilla West

History has a tendency to repeat itself, but the Pasquerilla West Purple Weasels hope this is not true in Interhall playoffs.

In last year’s semifinals, the Purple Weasels fell to top-seeded Welsh Family 13-0 in a hard-fought battle on both sides in frigid South Bend November weather.

The situation is almost identical this year – the two teams will face off in the semis with the Whirlwinds seeded first and undefeated. The Whirlwinds will try to continue their dominant ways, after knocking off No. 8 seed Lyons 20-7.

Welsh Fam has been undefeated in the regular season the past three years, but that doesn’t always equate to success in the playoffs. This year they are relying on a team effort.

“We usually get a lot of big plays from a lot of different people,” Welsh Family captain Jenni Gargula said. “Many receivers have caught touchdown passes and many defensive players have interceptions.”

The Purple Weasels have a similar all-around approach as everything seemed to click on offense and defense in their previous win over Howard 12-6. The winner of this match will go on to play in the championship game against the winner of Farley and McGlinn.

Kickoff between the Whirlwinds and Purple Weasels is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday at LaBar Field.